


pink cloud summer

by bleedings



Category: One Direction (Band), but theyre not a band
Genre: M/M, Parties, SORTA PINING, theyre in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 01:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16545878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleedings/pseuds/bleedings
Summary: zayn thinks harry is beautiful





	pink cloud summer

It was 9:00 A.M. when Zayn’s alarm went off, blaring and bouncing off the walls in his small bedroom and pinging right into his ears. He let out multiple groans and extended his left arm to the nightstand, pressing the ‘off’ button, managing to push the clock off of the table as he did so. With heavy eyes, he stretched his legs and raised his arms above his head, turning his body sideways a bit as he let out yet another groan. He has never been a morning person but especially not when he got in late, due to his best lad, Niall, making him stay at his until 2:00 A.M. Niall had a big test coming up and he insisted on having Zayn there to help him study, and Zayn’s a sucker for his friends so he obviously couldn’t turn him down. 

He hates days like these, where he has to go to morning classes. But he only has one morning class this whole semester so he doesn’t complain much. 

He swung his legs around the edge of the bed and placed his feet flat against the cold hardwood floor, curling his toes to make them crack before he pressed his palms against the bed, pushing himself up. 

Zayn got ready fast, just throwing on some clothes and brushing his teeth before he left for class. The class was creative writing, and he did quite enjoy it on any other day, but today he was tired and didn’t feel like writing an essay over his room. The assignment was to write a descriptive essay over a room in his house or any other room in any other house. He thought it was easy enough, just didn’t really have any desire to do it, but he’d figured it was due next week and he’ll probably do it the night before, so it’s fine. 

After class he was proper starved so he went to the campus deli. He liked the atmosphere of the shop. The lights were very dim and the seats were so comfortable, there were even a few couches where Zayn has fallen asleep on many times while trying to complete an assignment. 

He ordered his usual coffee, black, no cream or sugar and a turkey sandwich. He had nothing much else to do today, nowhere to be, so he sat down on one of the couches and ate his sandwich. He picked it into pieces and ate it that way, a habit he has had for as long as he can remember. He sat there for a while even after his food and coffee were gone, just observing the people around him. He was sort of a people watcher. He considered himself to be good at reading people, too. He could tell the difference between the people sitting on their computers, two coffees in front of them, clearly trying to get assignments done in a hurry, and then the carefree people who stumbled in gracefully, taking their time. He enjoyed watching people. Sometimes he’d make up their stories, in his head. 

One time he saw this one girl, a very beautiful girl he thought. She was quite tall, his height, with her dirty blonde hair pulled up in a messy bun, strands falling out everywhere. She looked so effortlessly beautiful. He could tell she was in a hurry and seemed to be frustrated with the baristas as they were taking a bit longer to get her order ready. He knew she wasn’t mad at them, that she probably understood they had other orders too, but she was just frustrated with the world that particular day. He learned that her name was Alex, when her order was ready and her name was called out. When she took the drink she thanked the barista with somewhat of an apologetic look on her face, like she felt bad for getting frustrated. She left, then, taking long strides out of the shop as she shoved her earbuds in her ears. Zayn didn’t know why she seemed aggravated or where she was going to in such a hurry, but he made up a story. 

She had two finals tomorrow and she still needed to study, as well as having endless errands to run. There just wasn’t enough time in the day. 

By now it was getting late in the day and Zayn figured he had done enough people watching for the day, so he decided to go over to Niall’s and see what was up. 

Zayn enjoyed attending the same uni with his best friend, so they were always close enough together so if either of them needed each other, they’d be there. They however didn’t get to room together like they wanted. Niall ended up getting roomed with a guy named Zack. He was a nice enough lad, they just didn’t hang out or anything. The closest they have gotten to hanging out is when they’re in the room at the same time, which really isn’t even often because Zack is always at football practice or a game or summat. He’s quite a busy lad. 

Zayn was somehow lucky enough to get a single, he really doesn’t know how that worked in his favor, but he doesn’t question it. He’s just glad because he’d rather room with no one if not Niall. It’s not that he doesn’t have any other friends or anything, because he does. He has a lot, if he’s being honest. And since he’s being so honest, he barely knows any of them. Just random people who know him and make the effort to talk to him. Anyway, there were upsides to not living with Niall. He’s pretty messy and sleep would be impossible if he were there, seeing as he never seems to sleep and in which case wants someone up with him, so he bugs you till you’re up and making him food, listening to him ramble on about nothing. He means well though, and Zayn loves the Irish lad. 

The second he arrived at Niall’s he regretted it because the blonde was attempting to drag the other boy to a party and he was looking more for a chill night rather than a party. The two of them were always going to parties and such, which is why Zayn needed a break. 

“Ni, I just wanted to hang out tonight. Just us.” Zayn pleaded with his friend, leaning up against the doorway to Niall’s room as he slipped his shoes on. Zayn watched Niall’s pale fingers tying the laces of his worn down vans, blinking down at him with a sigh. Niall dropped his hands onto his thighs, making a slapping noise as he stood to his feet, walking over to Zayn. 

The Irish boy stood facing Zayn, placing his hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eyes. 

“We will, yeah? We’ll hang, just us, tomorrow. But tonight we’re going to this party and you’re gonna have a good time, maybe get yourself laid?” His eyebrows moved up and down as his lips spread across his teeth, smiling, pleading. 

Zayn gave in, of course. He dropped his hands to his side and tilted his head back, emitting a loud groan before looking down at his friend and rolling his eyes. 

“Fine, but you owe me.”  
“No, you’ll owe me once you find someone cute to snog.” Niall spurted out, causing another eye roll from Zayn. 

Niall always seemed to want Zayn to have a lay more than Zayn himself. He always has to remind his friend that it’s not that he can’t find someone, but that he just doesn’t want to. He’s not someone who’s big on making it special or anything, he just doesn’t have enough interest in anyone to actually want to do anything with them. He’s fine, anyway. 

They made their way to the party which was being held in one of the frat houses, like most of the others. The frat houses were huge, so it just made sense they’d happen there. There were already a ton of people there, some lingering around in the yard, some on the porch and the rest inside. When he first stepped in the door he could feel the thump of the music playing over the speakers all over his body and smell the sharp scent of alcohol and sweat. Niall was immediately dragged away by a group of people, begging him to do shots with them. Zayn rolled his eyes for the hundredth time tonight, but smiled after his friend. 

Usually parties are enjoyable for him, he dances and drinks and talks with people, but he really just wasn’t feeling it tonight. He pushed his way into the kitchen, finding it in no time since he has been here countless times. Once inside he found bottles of water sitting on the counter, so he took one and leant himself back against the counter, sipping at the water. There wasn’t really anyone in the kitchen, just people coming in every few minutes to grab more booze and snogging people passing by to find a room. He stayed there for a bit, just leaning against the counter, drinking his water before he decided to go back out into the living room. 

He didn’t make it much further than the doorway before he saw the most beautiful person he thinks he has ever seen in his life. He was a tall, lanky lad with a head full of shoulder length curly hair. He stood around a table with some others, holding his phone up to take pictures of his friends, Zayn presumes, as they all take shots. The boy himself didn’t take any, just kept taking pictures of them. 

Zayn stood there and watched the boy, noticing how once he put his phone away he’d sway his hips to the beat of the music, so slow and sensual. He kept his eyes shut with his head tilted back, didn’t even look when someone would touch him. If anything, he seemed to enjoy being touched. He’d lean into the body behind him and move his body with theirs. 

Zayn honestly felt like the breath had been knocked out of him after watching this boy, he was gorgeous. Zayn also couldn't read him, like he could anyone else. He couldn’t figure the first thing out about him, and it was bothering him so much. How can’t he read him? 

He was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed the curly haired boy’s eyes on him. His eyes were burning into Zayn’s own and Zayn really could have drifted away right then. The boy held his gaze as he continued swaying his hips, even when there was a short pause in between songs. The world around them seemed to disappear for a second, everything except them blacking out. So many thoughts swam through Zayn’s head. “Who is this boy, and why is he so damn breathtaking?” 

Seconds later, Niall was grabbing Zayn’s arm and pulling him out on the porch where a few other people stood, shoving a spliff into his fingers. Zayn didn’t even have time to process what had just happened and he was honestly quite grateful that Niall pulled him away when he did, he needed a smoke anyway. 

He stood in a circle with Niall and the others, all of them talking about random things, each of them spitting things out every few seconds. 

“Oi lads, I know where we can get something a bit stronger than this. Anyone in?” Niall gestured to the spliff held in between Zayn’s fingers with a shit eating grin as the rest of them nodded and confirmed they were in fact in. They all went inside, waiting for Niall to lead the way. 

“M’probably gonna get goin after I finish this off.” Zayn spoke, turning his head to let out a puff of smoke. 

“Kay, z.” Niall grabbed Zayn’s wrist and brought the end of the spliff to his lips, taking a long hit before nodding. “We’ll hang tomorrow, swear it. I need more help studying, anyway.” 

Zayn chuckled and used his free fingers to push at Niall’s cheek. “Course you do. Be careful tonight, yeah?” Niall nodded and joined the group waiting for him as Zayn walked down the wide stairs on the porch, sitting down on the last one. He extended one leg out and leaned back, closing his eyes as he took a hit, his head falling back slightly. 

His eyes shot open when he heard the shutter of a photo being taken, turning to see the same boy from earlier. He looked even more beautiful up close, green eyes bright under the dim porch light and curly strands falling over his face. He held his phone in his hands, looking down at it before looking back up at Zayn, shoving the phone in front of his eyes. 

“You looked cool and I wanted to take a picture.” It was the first time Zayn heard the boy talk and his voice was deep and smooth, like silk. 

He focused his eyes on the image in front of his eyes, noticing that it looked like an old grainy, vintage photo. It did look cool. 

“I use an app that makes pictures look like that, I like it. I am trying to find an old polaroid or something to use instead of my phone because it’d be cool to have the images physically. I mean I could print them but it’s different, I don’t know, yanno?” 

He rambled on and Zayn couldn’t help the chuckle he let out, smoke trailing out with the noise. The boy’s eyebrows lifted when Zayn laughed, and he blinked at him a few times. 

“I’m Harry.” Harry. Zayn thought that sounded like a name of a middle aged husband of a stay at home mom with 3 little boys, but it fit him. It was nice. 

Harry was sitting on the step above Zayn, his feet flat against the steps and his knees bent up high. He had his head tilted down at Zayn and Zayn could see almost all of the details on his face. He kept his head stretched backwards to get a better look at the boy, seeing how his long eyelashes fluttered quickly and how his tongue darted out across his bottom lip when Zayn didn’t respond to him. 

“M’sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you, just thought you looked cool, s’all.” He started to get up and Zayn shook his head, finally talking. 

“You didn’t bother me, I’m Zayn.” Harry sat back down, this time on the same step as Zayn. 

“Hi Zayn.”  
“Hello Harry.” 

The curly one smiled and turned his body to face Zayn, propping his elbow up on his knee and resting his chin in his hand. 

“Want a hit?” Zayn wasn’t sure what to say to him, so he offered him a smoke. He felt a bit nervous, the boy in front of him was so striking to him and he wasn’t sure what he should do. 

“I’ve never smoked before, to be honest.” He leaned in closer to Zayn and tilted his head, eyeing the stick between the other boy’s fingers. He furrowed his eyebrows, pressing his lips together softly before scooting closer to Zayn, their shoulders brushing. 

“I’ll help, yeah? It’s easy, just inhale and then exhale after a few seconds.” He passed the spliff off and watched as Harry took the end between his lips, inhaling slowly. 

Zayn kept thinking how his lips were just on that same spot, and now this gorgeous person’s are too. Harry had his eyes shut when he exhaled, and Zayn thought he looked cool, so he grabbed Harry’s phone, which was still on and took a photo of him, just as he had done previously. 

The silence was soon interrupted by Harry coughing, and then laughing. His eyes crinkled up at the corners and his mouth was open wide as his body rocked back and forth, bumping against Zayn multiple times. 

He watched as Harry would take a few more hits, certain that he wasn’t inhaling the smoke long enough to give him a buzz. So he just sat there and watched him, his eyes drooping slightly while he focused on Harry’s long fingers holding the spliff and the way his eyelashes would flutter slowly. It was just now registering to him that the boy had told him he had never smoked before and now he sort of feels special. It’s dumb, he knows, to feel like that but he just feels like he was apart of something with this boy. He was there for one of his firsts, even if it were just his first smoke, Zayn was still there and he almost felt achieved. Achieved to have been there for a first of this beautiful person. 

There really is no denying that Harry is beautiful. He has these long legs that go for miles, and big bright green eyes. All Zayn can really see right now is the physical aspect of him. With anyone else he would have had them figured out already, but not with this stranger. And that was killing Zayn, what’s so different about this boy that Zayn can’t figure him out? He was intrigued, fascinated. 

He let Harry finish off the rest of the spliff before he stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans and running a hand through his hair afterwards. The boy that was still sitting looked up at him, his hair falling back as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Hey I’m gonna get goin.” Zayn leaned his back against the railing on the stairs and pushed the tip of his shoe against the side of Harry’s own. 

“Yeah hey, man thanks for the smoke. Will I see you around?” His eyes looked hopeful and Zayn smiled at that, shrugging his shoulders lazily while stepping off of the steps. 

With his back turned to the lad, he called back, “yeah, see you, Harry.” 

On his way back to his room that night he couldn’t get this boy out of his head. Mainly because he was trying to read him after having spent that short time together, but he still couldn’t. And if he kept seeing images of messy curls and pink lips, he’d never admit it. 

 

Zayn ended up sleeping in the next morning until around noon. He’d usually feel shitty for sleeping in so late but it was Friday and he was skipping his classes today. He only had two and they weren’t that important, he concluded, so he was just gonna hang around all day and the rest of the weekend. 

When he checked his phone he saw a few messages from Niall, telling him to come over whenever. He got up and decided to shower, since he hadn’t had one in a day or two. He grabbed his clothes, soap and towel and made his way out of his room, walking down the long hallway to the bathroom. There wasn’t anyone in there, which Zayn was quite happy about. He didn’t mind showering while other people were there because there were curtains to hide themselves with, but it’s still nice to be alone. 

He stripped down once inside the stall, setting them on one of the racks hanging outside before he turned the water on, making it as hot as possible. Another perk of showering alone, he could have all the hot water he wanted. Whereas if there were multiple people in there, the water would start to get cold. He took his time washing, dragging his soapy fingers slowly through his hair, massaging the soap into his scalp. 

Zayn had mixed feelings about showers. He did in fact enjoy getting clean and smelling good, but he always seemed to do the most thinking while he showered. He thought about his life, about his feelings. He has never been one to just express his feelings, he’s sort of closed off. His mum is sure he builds walls because his dad was never there, but Zayn doesn’t think it’s that serious. He knows he has issues with trusting people and such, but who doesn’t? 

Once he was finished he got out and dried off, slipping on some clothes, just towel drying his hair before he went back to his room, throwing his dirty clothes and towel in a basket. He then went to Niall’s. Niall’s room was on another hallway, not far, just not that convenient as if he were right beside Zayn. He arrived at his friends, not bothering to knock before walking in. 

Niall was still in his boxers, sitting on his bed with his laptop in front of him and some show playing on it. 

“Mate you’re still not even dressed.” Zayn shook his head at Niall and let out a chuckle, shutting the door behind him before pulling out the desk chair, sitting down on it and spinning around slowly. Niall threw a pillow at him and shut his laptop, getting up to throw on some clothes. 

Zayn thought Niall was really attractive. He had this bright blonde hair and ocean eyes, not to mention how charming he was. He used to think he could like him, but then they became the best of friends and all of those thoughts went away. They have kissed before, though. They were at a party their senior year of highschool and got dared to kiss, so they did. It wasn’t bad, just a quick kiss. Niall is very comfortable with his sexuality, so he never minds telling Zayn he’s hot or anything along those lines. He is in fact very straight though. He told Zayn he had been curious before, but that he experimented and didn’t like it. Now he just dates up a storm of uni girls, leaving a trail of hearts behind him. That Niall is a real heartbreaker. 

“So you met Harry then, last night?” Zayn’s eyebrows furrowed instantly at Niall’s words, tilting his head slightly. 

Niall scoffed and ran both of his hands through his hair, rolling his eyes. “Don’t give me that face, I saw the two of you on the porch after I went inside.” 

“Erm, yeah. We talked for a second, let him have a go at the spliff. First time I’ve ever seen him before, really.” Zayn felt a bit confused, how did Niall know him? 

The blonde nodded and sat down on Zack’s bed which was covered in books and jerseys, but no Zack. There was a window behind his bed, which is why Niall sat there, so he could smoke. You’re not supposed to smoke in the dorms but no one really listens. It was a matter of seconds before he had pulled out a smoke, exhaling out the window. Zayn was just about to ask how Niall knew him when he spoke up, answering his unasked question. 

“He’s a cool lad. We met through Lou, my mate I told you about from the pub. Reckon they’ve got a thing going on or summat, but he’s cool.” Niall calling him cool reminded him of how Harry just the night before called him cool. But then he caught on to Niall saying him and this Lou guy may have a thing going on, and felt a bit of jealousy low in his stomach. But he also hasn’t eaten so it could be hunger. 

“Oh yeah? He seemed alright, we didn’t talk much.” Zayn twirled around in the chair once more, propping his elbow up on the arm rest. 

“Does he go here?” Niall kept taking drags and blowing the smoke out the window with his head pressed back against the wall. 

“Nah, he goes to the uni across town, that one for art.” Niall shoved the bud out the window and shut it, standing up and stretching his arms behind his head. “He wants to be a photographer or somethin’, Lou told me.” Zayn remembered him talking about wanting a polaroid. 

They stayed in the room for a bit, just talking and making plans for the weekend. Niall said something about a small hangout at Liam’s, his older friend. Liam has his own flat, so it makes hanging out easier because they never have to worry about an RA popping in to check and make sure everyone’s good. Both of the boys met Liam at a party that neither of them were technically supposed to be at, since it was strictly for the frat members, but when Liam found them, he didn’t tell and their friendship blossomed from there. That was a year ago, though and Liam has abandoned the frat lifestyle, for the better if Zayn has anything to say about it. He thinks all of the frat boys are shallow trust fund babies who only get laid when they roofie someone. 

Turns out, Liam knew the Lou (Louis, Zayn found out) fellow, so he was there. He at first felt a bit sour about it because of the Harry thing, but he got over it as soon as he talked to Louis because he was actually quite funny. He was pretty loud and couldn’t stay still, and Zayn thought it was the funniest thing. He brought probably a dozen spliffs, and Zayn truly felt like he owed him his life for it. 

They all sat around on the living room floor just passing the smoke around to each other while some movie played on tv, none of them were watching it, just had it on as background noise. Only about two hours had gone by before there was a knock at the door. Zayn wasn’t too interested in whoever was there, just sitting with his back against the couch and his head leant back on it. He could hear Liam greeting someone and the front door shutting, and he assumed the person walked in. 

He kept his eyes shut until he heard the same silky smooth voice from the night before, so he looked up and there he was. He looked different in the bright lighting of Liam’s living room. He didn’t have the same sweaty glow like he did last night and his hair wasn’t flowing down by his shoulders, instead it was pulled up in a bun, strands hanging by his ears. 

Louis got up and pulled him into a hug, and Zayn couldn’t help but notice the way his arm snuck around the small of Harry’s back, bringing their bodies closer together. 

Harry noticed Zayn sitting on the floor and went over to sit down on the couch, his legs beside Zayn’s body on the ground. Zayn could feel the warmth coming off of Harry’s thigh beside his head and he was about to turn to look up at him, but instead got cut off by the rest of the lads talking. 

“I’m assuming everyone knows everyone here?” Louis’ voice boomed over everyone else’s as he took his seat back on the floor. Everyone nodded and agreed, while Liam went to the kitchen to grab some beers. He passed everyone a bottle, but when he offered Harry one, he declined. 

“No thanks, I don’t drink.” 

Zayn kind of chuckled at that. 

“You don’t smoke or drink? What keeps you sane?” Harry’s eyes rolled but he smiled, and Zayn rolled his head to the side to catch it. His smile really was something. 

Louis got up and came to plop down beside Harry, throwing an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into his side. 

“See, hazza here doesn’t need drugs or liquid therapy to cope like the rest of us wankers. He just pops some earphones in and takes some pretty photos and he’s fine.” 

Zayn liked Louis he did, but he didn’t like how he spoke for Harry. Or how he had his arm around him. He watched long enough to see Harry bury his face in the other lad’s shoulder, his cheeks tinting a light rosy pink. 

They didn’t have the most interesting night, they just sat around talking and watching movies. It was now around three in the morning and Zayn woke up to find everyone passed out across the room, except a certain curly haired lad. He stood up and stretched, rubbing his eyes shortly after and then stumbled his way into the kitchen. He grabbed a cup from the cabinet and filled it up with water, chugging it to try and get some relief from the cotton mouth he currently has. His head turned towards the balcony when he heard a noise come from it, so he walked out there and was greeted by Harry who was leant over the railing earbuds in his ears. 

He figured he could turn around now and go back inside without Harry seeing him, but he just wanted to admire the boy for another second. Harry had his eyes shut and his head was swaying side to side slowly, his skin being illuminated by the light coming from the moon. 

He didn’t flinch when Harry turned around, pulling his earbuds out. He didn’t even look away. 

“Hey.” he whispered, turning his body to face Zayn. “I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t wanna leave so late.”

His eyes looked droopy and his hair was falling out of the bun, but he looked amazing. Zayn stepped closer to Harry, nodding at him. He sat down in one of the chairs that were sat out there, slumping into the seat. Harry just pressed his back against the railing and kept his eyes focused on Zayn. 

“How do you know Louis?” Zayn couldn’t help himself from asking, he really didn’t even care if Harry thought it was weird. Harry shrugged and kept his hands in front of him, playing with his own fingers. 

“We met at the pub he works at, I was trying to get in but obviously wasn’t of age, but then he saw me and helped me get in.” 

Zayn nodded, he wanted to ask if they were together but didn’t want to invade his privacy. 

“We’re not together or anything, just really good lads.” Maybe Harry was reading his mind. Maybe it was weird that Zayn actually sighed of relief when Harry said they weren’t together. He nodded again, rubbing his hands up and down his thighs. 

“If we were together though, how would you feel about that?” Harry moved closer to Zayn, bumping his knees into the other boys. 

Zayn’s head was swimming. Was Harry flirting? What exactly was he doing? 

“I mean, I don’t know.” And he didn’t know. 

The green eyed boy leaned down, pressing his hands against the back of the chair beside Zayn’s shoulders before leveling his face with Zayn’s. 

Zayn could feel Harry’s breath fan across his face and he felt like he was in a trance, he couldn’t look away. 

He had never been this close to Harry and now he was able to see his eyes up close and man, he was losing himself in them. He could see the freckle off to the side of his mouth and he could see all the lines and marks he had, and he loved them. He didn’t know what to do, so he let his body just take control. He lifted his hands up and it felt like they were a million pounds, but he placed them on Harry’s hips, gripping his shirt in between his fingers. 

“I think you’d be jealous.” And then Harry just walked away, but not after letting his fingertips glide across Zayn’s cheek. Zayn was so confused, what had just happened? 

And from that night on, they just got closer. They always played around with each other, cooing “baby” at one another, touching each other. But, Zayn was positive it was all just friendly. They hadn’t had anymore moments like when they were on the balcony, and Zayn was aching. 

It had been six months since the night they all went to Liam’s. Zayn really had come to the conclusion that he had feelings for Harry. Over these past months that had done so much together. They’ve shared music and went all over the city together, they basically knew each other better than anyone else. Zayn felt such a bond with Harry that he had never felt for anyone before, even Niall. He never called Harry his best friend, though. He didn’t like the way it tasted rolling off of his tongue. It made him feel like he’d never have Harry, which he kind of just knew, but he wanted to be in denial. 

 

“Hey look at these photos I took the other day.” Harry pulled his phone out and began to flip through multiple photos after he leaned over the back of the couch in which Zayn was sitting on, shoving his phone in his face. 

Zayn admired the photos, all grainy and vintage looking. Harry still hadn’t found himself a camera so he was settling for the app on his phone that gave the images that effect. The photos were of alleyways and cracked sidewalks with strands of yellow and white flowers growing between them. All of the photos he took had sort of a dark feeling to them, like they were of things that looked so beautifully messed up on the outside, but had such a beautiful meaning when you really analyzed it, which Harry did. He never explained his appeal to these photos though, just would show them off and how he thought whatever was in the image would make a cool picture. 

He turned his head to the side and tilted it up to look at Harry who was smiling ear to ear. 

“They’re really good, H. Like always, really beautiful.” He almost whispered, causing Harry’s smile to get smaller, before he walked around the couch and took a seat beside Zayn. 

Harry’s shoulder pressed against Zayn’s as he looked down at his phone again, pulling up Spotify. He clicked on a song, pausing it before it could play and pressed his feet against the floor so he could lift his bottom up to grab headphones from his back pocket. He plugged them into his phone quickly and handed Zayn one of the buds, urging him to put it in his ear as he did the same. 

“I like this song a lot, probably my favorite. It’s really nice and it sort of makes me think of you. Just close your eyes and really listen to it, yeah?” 

The song started and Zayn watched Harry lean his head back, shutting his eyes softly. 

The song was really nice, he listened to the lyrics closely and let his mind run wild with thoughts of a certain curly haired lad. The lyrics danced around in his head as they each passed fleetingly and he smiled. It made him think of summer evenings just sitting at the park or laying down in the grass, looking up at the sky as the sunsets. Just having a really calm, euphoric kind of time. He often times feels like the green eyed boy doesn’t have a real smile. It’s a beautiful sight, real or not, but it never reaches his eyes. He has never seen Harry smile a real smile.

They have never gotten into their feelings or their pasts, except for one night when Zayn was drunk and spilled all his secrets. He had forgotten about it by the next morning, so Harry never did mention it. There were quite a lot of times where Zayn would say things to Harry while he was drunk or high that Harry deemed to be a bit strange. Maybe strange isn’t the word, just things that made him think. Like the one time Zayn pressed his cheek against Harry’s arm, almost burning his skin because of how warm it was, and told him that he was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. Harry always took those things with a grain of salt, because well his friend was completely out of it and almost never remembered half of the shit he spat out. 

It wasn’t even that Zayn wasn’t open, because he is. He considers himself to be an open book, if you ask. But Harry never asked. He always felt like Harry maybe didn’t wanna hear his story, if you will, because everytime a topic came up that could be even slightly sensitive, he changed it. He never discussed his own feelings, or anyone else’s. So Zayn just left it alone, even though it was bothering him to no end. He wanted Harry to trust him. 

When the song was over Harry pulled the earbud out of Zayn’s ear, turning on the couch to face him, crossing his legs. Zayn thought he looked small, like a child, excited about candy or something. 

“So? Did you like it?” He kind of bounced himself up and down, resting both of his elbows on his thighs and then his chin in his palms that were pressed together. 

Zayn smiled, pressing his tongue against the back of his teeth. “Yeah Haz, I liked it.” 

The curly lad just smiled and laid himself back on the couch, pushing his legs out to drape across Zayn’s lap. He talked about the song, how it was his favorite and how he never goes a day without listening to it. Zayn felt like he was letting him in on a vulnerable part of his life right now, telling him a secret that no one else in the world knew and he loved it. 

Zayn placed his hand down on Harry’s ankle, squeezing it softly before tracing his fingertips up and down his leg. He felt goosebumps rise underneath his fingers and he smiled to himself, looking over at his friend whose curls were sprawled out around his head with a small pink smile on his face. An angel, he might be. 

“You’re gonna make me fall asleep if you keep that up.” His eyes remained shut and the smile that danced on his lips got bigger as he spoke, stretching across his pearly white teeth. 

“That’s okay, baby.” The second it left Zayn’s mouth, he didn’t know what to do. He felt Harry’s leg twitch on his lap and he felt so dumb. Sure, they had called each other baby before but always in a joking manner, never seriously and that was always obvious. Okay, what’s the worst that could happen? Harry probably didn’t even notice, and if he did he probably just assumes it’s a joke. 

“You called me baby.” Fuck. 

“Did I?” He questioned, knowing damn well that he did. 

“Yeah.” Harry’s eyes were now open and burning into the side of Zayn’s face. He felt it, he felt the hole Harry was burning into him. 

“Was it a baby, or just baby?” What is this boy doing? 

“Must’ve just slipped.” He was calling himself a dumbass in his head. 

“If it hadn’t just slipped, I’d be okay with that.” Zayn’s heart jumped. No, his heart leaped. His heart was doing cartwheels inside of his chest. Is Harry just playing along, or is he serious? He can’t be serious. 

‘Don’t be a pussy, Zayn.’ He kept thinking to himself, having an internal argument with himself. 

“To be quite honest, it didn’t slip.” 

No turning back now. Harry sat up a bit, pressing his elbows into the couch and leaning up. He tilted his head so some curls fell in front of his face, his tongue darting out to lick his lips quickly. He just stared at Zayn and he had no idea what the boy was thinking. If anything getting closer with Harry has made him that much less readable, he could never tell what he was thinking. Meanwhile he felt like Harry was looking right through him. 

“You’re gonna kill me, I think.” 

Zayn’s heart was pounding, racing. He had felt this way for months and it has been eating away at him, so he can’t just let this moment slip away. A small smile spread across his face and he let his fingers twitch against the other boy’s leg, realizing he hadn’t moved his hand for a few minutes, scared any sudden movement would scare Harry off like a cat when they sense any type of presence. 

“I’d never dream of it.” Zayn smiled softly, shifting his body slightly to the side. 

“My heart is goin’ crazy, Z.” 

“Glad I’m not the only one.” 

And with that Harry laid back down on the couch, taking his bottom lip between his teeth as he tried to hide a smile. He brought his hands up to cover his face and let out a loud laugh, his knees bending up as he pressed his feet flat against Zayn’s leg. He drug his fingers down his cheeks and looked straight at Zayn. 

“What is it?” Zayn asked, smiling at Harry. 

Harry shook his head, a warm smile across his pink lips. 

“I just. I’ve liked you since that night we met on the steps at that party. This whole time my feelings for you have just been growing and I was so sure you didn’t feel the same but it’s like, now I can finally breathe, yanno?” 

He did know. He knew that feeling all to well, he always felt like he couldn’t breathe or like there was this pressure on his chest when he was around Harry, because he had all these feelings he didn’t know what to do with.

“I’d have to be a complete dumb ass to not feel the same about you, Haz.” 

And with that finally being said, Zayn felt like he was floating. He felt so relieved that he was finally able to tell Harry how he felt, and vice versa. 

Harry leaned so close to him that his eyelashes fluttered against Zayn’s cheeks, pressing his hand against the back of his neck. They got lost in eachother just like they did the first night they met at the party. 

There was a gap in between their lips, until there wasn’t and Zayn could’ve swore his heart was vibrating against his chest. 

Their lips slid across eachother’s and their fingers explored as much skin on eachother as possible and they both felt like they belonged.


End file.
